Edzard Ernst – författare

En besk medicin Välkommen till alternativmedicinens värld! Tusen och åter tusen är de som försökt kurera sig med akupunktur, örtmediciner eller homeopatiska produkter. Men vilka metoder fungerar egentligen och vilka är farliga eller i bästa fall harmlösa? Äntligen kan den vetgirige få svar, tack vare Simon Singh och Edzard Ernst, världens förste professor i alternativmedicin. Tillsammans har de skrivit den definitiva boken i ämnet, Salvekvick och kvacksalveri - Alternativmedicinen under luppen. Akupunktur, aromterapi, Feng Shui, homeopati, kiropraktik, kristallterapi, reiki och trettio andra populära behandlingar behandlas och utvärderas. Det är en ärlig, opartisk och besk medicin som serveras. Salvekvick och kvacksalveri är en given läsning för praktiserande läkare, som tyvärr är alltför dåligt pålästa, för politiker och tjänstemän som beslutar om den offentliga vården och för skattebetalarna som i sista hand får stå för kalaset. Och självfallet, för alla oss stackars patienter. Simon Singh är en av världens främsta populärvetenskapliga författare. Han har tidigare skrivit Fermats gåta, Kodboken och Big Bang. Edzard Ernst är professor i alternativmedicin vid Exeter University i England. Boken inleds med ett förord av Martin Ingvar, professor i integrativ medicin vid Karolinska institutet.

Alternative medicine (AM) is hugely popular; about 40% of the US general population have used at least one type of alternative treatment in the past year, and in Germany this figure is around 70%. The money spent on AM is considerable: the global market is expected to reach nearly US $ 200 billion by 2025, with most of these funds coming directly out of consumers’ pockets.

The reasons for this popularity are complex, but misinformation is certainly a prominent factor. The media seem to have an insatiable appetite for the subject and often report uncritically on it. Misinformation about AM on the Internet (currently about 50 million websites are focused on AM) is much more the rule than the exception.

This bookis a reference text aimed at guiding consumers through the maze of AM. The concept of the book is straightforward. It has two main parts. The first, short section provides essential background on AM, explaining in simple terms what is (and what is not) good, reliable evidence, and addressing other relevant issues like, for instance, the placebo response, informed consent, integrative medicine, etc.

The second and main part consists of 150 short chapters, topically grouped and each dedicated to one single alternative therapeutic or diagnostic method. In each of them, seven critical points are raised. These points relate to issues that are important for consumers’ decisions whether it is worth trying the method in question. Restricting the discussion to just seven points means that issues must be prioritized to those themes which are most relevant in the context of each given modality.

Of all forms of alternative medicine, chiropractic is the one that is most generally accepted. In the UK, for instance, chiropractors are regulated by statute and even have their own ‘Royal College of Chiropractic’. In the US, chiropractic’s country of origin, most chiropractors carry the title ‘doctor’ and many consumers believe they are medically trained.

Despite this high level of acceptance, chiropractic is wide open to criticism. The claims and assumptions made by chiropractors are far from evidence based. Chiropractic manipulations are of doubtful effectiveness and have regularly been associated with severe adverse effects, including multiple fatalities. The advice issued by chiropractors to patients and consumers is often less than responsible. The behaviour of chiropractors and their organisations is frequently less than professional.

This book presents and discusses recent evidence in and around chiropractic in a factual and unemotional manner. It amounts to an evidence-based critique of this profession and discloses the often dangerously misleading information published for the lay audience. It thereby contributes to advancing public health and critical thinking.

Alternative medicine (AM) is popular; about 40% of the US general population have used alternative treatment in the past year, and in Germany this figure is around 70%. The global market is expected to reach nearly US $ 200 billion by 2025, with most of these funds coming directly out of consumers’ pockets.

Consumers are bombarded with misleading and false information on AM and therefore prone to making wrong, unwise, or dangerous therapeutic decisions, endangering their health and wasting their money.

This book is a reference text aimed at guiding consumers through the maze of AM. This second edition includes over 50 additional treatments as well as updates on many others. 

This book focuses on the individuals who invented specific forms of alternative medicine. Examples are Hahnemann (homeopathy), Still (osteopathy), Schulz (autogenic training). In total, about 40 such personalities are included in the book. They have all led unusual lives, and the book explores their journey towards their inventions. Certain characteristics seem to emerge:·         They are all male!

·         Many originated from Europe

·         Most of them are white

·         Many gave their name to the therapy

·         Many inventions are relatively recent

·         Many inventors are not doctors

·         Most inventors claim to have found a panacea

·         Many adhere to vitalistic ideas

·         Almost all of the inventors are fully convinced of their invention

·         Inventions are often based on personal experience

·         The inventions tend to be implausible even by the standards of their time

The book explores all these themes and, where appropriate, contrasts them with the corresponding situation in conventional medicine.

There have been many books about the doctors of the Third Reich and their atrocities. Most of these books neglect the contribution of women in the medical profession. In this book, they are the focus of attention.

The first section of the book explains the background of the Third Reich in general and medicine during this period in particular. It addresses the situation of female doctors and why there were relatively few of them.

It goes on to detail the forms of transgression that occurred under Nazi rule—involuntary sterilization, euthanasia, and mass murder of Jews and other groups considered undesirable.

The second part of the book is a collection of 38 alphabetically arranged biographies of individual female doctors who participated in these activities. It reports on the actions they took and what happened to them after the war. 

The final chapter draws some conclusions, which can be briefly summarized as follows: 1) the female doctors'' role remains under-researched, 2) generally speaking, female doctors were also guilty, but their transgressions generally less gruesome than those of their male colleagues, 3) many of the deeds of female doctors are nevertheless shocking.